One of the advantages of writing a book on a word processor is that you can search the manuscript for repeated words and phrases. This can be, to say the least, a chastening experience. Like all prolific authors, I have my mannerisms, and over the weekend I did my best to vacuum as many of them as possible out of Rhythm Man: A Life of Louis Armstrong.
Here’s a list of the words and phrases for which I searched. I invite you to speculate on what they say about me:
amaze
astonish
at the end of his life
celebrity
countless
delight/delighted
doubtless/no doubt
engaging
extraordinary
extravagant
frank
generation
generous/generosity
glee
grand total
handsome
impress
interesting
just as
late in life
made the most
mere
more and more
needless to say
no less
nor
nostalgic/nostalgia
noteworthy
occasional
on the other hand
panache
pivot
presumably
quaint
quite
relish
remarkable
revealing
self-evident
stagger/staggering
stiff
striking
stun/stunned
surprising
transform
vivid
wanted to hear
whatever
wonder